New UTVs, like the RZR XP, Maverick and Wildcat, require
little more than a roof, doors, harness and fire extinguisher to
race WORCS or most other short-course series. This type of
racing is pretty accessible, but what if desert racing is really
your thing? This was our dilemma, so we set out to build a
SCORE-legal car out of the 2014 XP 1000 two-seater. The
typical requirements for a desert-legal race car include an
extensive frame-up safety cage and replacing the fuel tank
with a fire-safe fuel cell. With a two-seat build, your only
fuel-cell options are to install a really expensive and relatively
small custom unit under the seats or install a much more
affordable, off-the-shelf fuel cell above the engine. We opted
for the latter. We knew that placing more than 100 pounds of
fuel up that high in the car would negatively affect handling,
but we were really out of options.
IN COMES THE STRETCH
Three quarters of the way into our build we ran into an old
friend who just so happens to be the owner and proprietor
of Glazzkraft Industries. Talking with Hector, we all agreed
that the four-seat chassis would make for a much better
overall desert car. The longer wheelbase is much better in
the whoops and rough terrain, and the back-seat area allows
you to run a much larger fuel cell, keeping the weight and